Eighth seed Jannik Sinner of Italy thrashed Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia 6-1 6-4 in the second round of the Italian Open in Rome on Friday. The match lasted for around one and half hours, as Kokkinakis could not put up much resistance. The 21-year-old Italian, who had finished as the runner-up in Miami earlier this year, thus stayed in contention for his maiden Masters 1000 title.
Jannik Sinner Dismantles Thanasi Kokkinakis in Rome
Jannik Sinner dispatched most of the short balls offered to him:
Sinner exhibited uninhibited aggression from the very beginning and raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set, breaking Kokkinakis to love in the second game. He then broke Kokkinakis once again to ease towards a win in the set. The big-serving Austalian’s serve was not as effective on the slow red clay of Rome and Sinner took advantage of that.
Moreover, Sinner directed a lot of traffic towards Kokkinakis’ backhand. He also played incisive approach shots almost every time a short ball was offered to him and then rushed to the net to finish the point with a volley.
Kokkinakis fared better in the second set, but struggled with his serve overall:
Kokkinakis served and hit his backhand better in the second set, but his return of serve was not good enough to test Sinner. The Australian struggled to deal with Sinner’s first serve quite often. The Italian, meanwhile, managed to get the decisive break in the set and then held his serve to finish the match off.
Kokkinakis could win only 62% of the points on his first delivery in the match. In stark contrast, Sinner won a staggering 97% of the points on his first serve and 80% of the points on his second delivery. It proved to be quite a mismatch in the end, as Sinner registered an emphatic win.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
